So you have the inner locking assembly in, and the large outer hub snap-ring in place. Did the smaller axle snap-ring fit into it's groove too, or is that left out?
Then you screw a couple of the screws in as handles presumably, and can't move it in and out. Correct?
While I trust Warn to know about their hubs, I'm not quite sure what possible rubbing could take place. The inner hub "slug" (the aluminum splined thingy) does not need to move, and is not up against anything that could rub it. So not sure what metal-to-metal rubbing they're referring to.
There is a lip cast into the aluminum that keeps it from going down into the splines any further, correct? And the large snap ring fits just outside of this lip, also correct?
I wonder if there is something in the splines keeping the locking mechanism from seating all the way down, so it's pushing up against the snap ring too closely?
I've seen this happen many times.
Usually it's either something like grit or a burr on the splines (usually the hub splines, not the Warn lockout's splines) that keeps it from going in all the way. But I've seen poorly machined parts do it as well. We had one last year that would not allow the lockouts to be inserted far enough to even clear the snap-ring for installation.
Our practice however is to take a known-good lockout and check each and every hub that we box into one of our kits. We insert it in each hub to make sure it goes in. But I could see that if it went in far enough to clear the groove, but maybe that was it, that visually it would pass as a good hub.
Maybe you can verify whether or not the lockout is seating all the way, with the lip up against the top of the splines.
Have you tried both sides and found that this is the same for both? Have you swapped lockouts from side to side just for S's-&-G's?
If you have not, would you mind taking that extra step please?
Personally, I'm not sure what the extra freeplay is for, but if you can't get it to work we can try another hub and rotor.
Now, for another possible aspect of this, how did you adjust the wheel bearings? If they're too tight, perhaps the lack of bearing end-play is not allowing the locking hubs to float freely in the splines. That's a long-shot, and I'm not trying to get us out of our responsibility to make sure you have correct and compatible parts. But I'm wondering if anything else could be at play here.
If you did get the small snap-ring installed on the axle shaft, remove it and see if you can move the lockout in and out after that.
Thanks. Sorry about the hassle, but we'll get it squared away one way or the other.
In the meantime, if you have to get the truck back on the road during this testing, I would say it's safe to run them at least temporarily while we're figuring it out.
Or if that's just not what you want to do, the vehicle can be driven without the locking hubs installed. Just put a some plastic, a baggie, or some tape over the open hub so junk doesn't get in the trunk.
Paul
